Pit vaults are often buried to enclose and protect equipment and components of underground pipe infrastructure systems, such as water distribution systems. For example, water meters, such as at a house or building, are often enclosed within pit vaults, and the water meters can record water consumption for the house or building. In the past, meter readers manually opened each pit vault to read the water meter. More recently, some water meters can be attached to nodes which can wirelessly transmit water consumption data. The data can be wirelessly received and recorded in order to bill the house or building for the appropriate water usage.
The node and an antenna of the node can also be housed within the pit vault to protect the node and antenna from damage, such as by being stepped upon or run over with a lawn mower. Pit vaults and lids of the pit vaults, which are often made from ferrous metal, can limit the range and efficiency of wireless transmission from the nodes by interfering with the wireless signals transmitted by the node. The antenna can be placed external to the pit vault and the lid; however, the antenna can be vulnerable to physical damage and prevent a tripping hazard when disposed external to the pit vault and the lid. Additionally, expensive waterproof connectors must typically be used to connect the antenna to the node to prevent water intrusion which can cause electrical failures, such as short circuiting.